Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE FIRST CUP IS THE SWEETEST
Solskjaer knows how silverware can start a tidal wave of success for Reds
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER knows from personal experience how winning a first trophy can be the start of something special.
As a player, he won the Premier League in his debut season at Manchester United in 1996-97, the first of six league titles, as well as two FA Cups and the Champions League.
Now Solskjaer is chasing his first trophy as United manager and has challenged his players to triumph in the Europa League over the next fortnight to usher in a new era of success at Old Trafford.
“It’s massive,” said the Norwegian of the importance of lifting silverware for the first time.
“You can see when Sir Alex won the Premier League for the first time, that was the start of the Premier League era.
“When I won my first trophy as a player, it made me hungrier. You saw the highs of it and how much it meant to everyone.
“As a coach, I won the league with Molde, the first time for the club in its 100-year history, and since then they’ve won it four times in eight or nine years. We’re four games away. The team has developed throughout the whole season. We’re delighted with finishing third in the Premier League, but the next step for this team is getting our hands on a trophy.
“We’ve been to two semi-finals this season, in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, and now we want to win something.”
United host Austrian side LASK tonight in the second leg of their last-16 encounter.
The Reds won the away game 5-0 on March 12, the day before the season was halted.
With such a commanding lead, their place is a formality in the quarter-finals of what will now be a single-game knockout tournament hosted at stadiums in Germany, starting on Monday. That gives Solskjaer the luxury of being able to rest key men tonight, with David De Gea, Aaron Wan-bissaka, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and
Anthony Martial among those likely to be left out.
In Cologne, United will face Copenhagen or Istanbul Basaksehir, with a potential semi-final showdown against their Premier League rivals Wolves.
Solskjaer said his men are desperate to go all the way to the Europa League final on August 21, even though that will mean only a short break before the new domestic campaign starts on September 12.
“The players want to play, they don’t want the break,” said Solskjaer. “They’re bothering me all the time that they want to play.
“Hopefully, if we go through to the end of the tournament, we can get some help and start a bit later. But it is what it is, it’s been a special year for the whole world.
“I’ll look after the players, we’ll give players time off to recharge, maybe a couple of weeks. These boys look after themselves anyway in the breaks they have.
“I’ve always been impressed how they look when they come back, same now after lockdown, where we’ve been one of the fittest teams.”
United plan to stay in Germany for as long as they remain in the Europa League, with other teams, including Wolves, potentially flying in and out of the country for their matches.
‘We’re delighted with finishing third in the Prem but next step for team is getting hands on a trophy’